Odyssey^2 Find - Help me identify it.

[Lord Nepenthean]

Okay, so I found an Odyssey^2 today with detachable joysticks.  It was marked $6.99 at a thrift store, so I bought it (knowing it was worth at least $15 or $20 more than that).  However, I don't know how to ID the thing to tell how rare my version is.  Can anyone help?

DP says of the O2 with detachable joysticks:

Description: A much more practical (and rare) version of the Odyssey2 features controllers that can be removed from the console. The sticks packaged with this system were of a silver and chrome color scheme, as opposed to the flat black ones on the hardwired set.

Part Number: AC7600.

This is of no help to me since mine does not have silver joysticks, nor does it have the part number AC7600.  Mine has black joysticks and the part number BK7600GY02.  So, I went to The Odyssey2 Homepage to see if they could help.  They have three variations of the BK7600GY02 model listed: two with detachable silver joysticks and one with hardwired black joysticks.  Of course mine is neither of these.  Have I found a new variation?  Maybe, maybe not.

Then I found this on the page:

Renewed consoles - Presumably these are consoles that were modified by Magnavox service centers, probably to replace their broken hardwired controllers with detachable 9-pin ports. Dennis Gruchala reports that Renewed consoles have the word RENEWED stamped on their undersides and on the box they come in. Unlike regular console boxes which are fully printed in color on all sides, Renewed console boxes are a plain whitish brown, with only a partial color label on top. The berths for the joystick ports appear to have been cut out, and the ports themselves have the appearance of replacement parts and are labeled with the letters AMP.

Den, any ideas?  My joysticks DO have the AMP letters on the connector, but the word "RENEWED" is not anywhere on the console underside.  What did you mean by "cut out"?  Was it that they were rectangular in shape and not the shape of the ports?   The ports on my console do not have the AMP letters like the joysticks themselves do.  Do you have a console like this or is mine different?

Pictures are attached.  Any thoughts are welcome.

[den68]

When I found my first Odyssey2 I remember asking questions about it at that site. Actually many of the same questions you are asking.

Mine has the word "AMP" on the joystick connector and my sticks are all black too.

What I meant by cut out is if you look closely at the holes in the console that the ports are in they look like they where cut out holes not holes that were part of the mold. I can't tell in your picture but on my OD2 the edges are real jaggy.

Mine was in the standard OD2 box but it did have the word "RENEWED" rubber stamped in red on the inside. Also on the bottom of the console is the word "RENEWED" again branded into the plastic.

I'd say he's probably correct that these were modified at a Magnavox service center. I'll try and dig mine out and get some pics.

[bum-man]

Seems to me mine has one black and one silver controller, but I never looked that closely at the ports or checked the plastic for "RENEWED".  I'll have to check it out tonight when I get home.

[Lord Nepenthean]

What I meant by cut out is if you look closely at the holes in the console that the ports are in they look like they where cut out holes not holes that were part of the mold. I can't tell in your picture but on my OD2 the edges are real jaggy.

The edges don't seem jaggy to me.  It sounds like on yours it was obvious; on mine it seems like the holes were either part of the mold or were cut very cleanly later....  to the point where I can't really even tell.

Mine was in the standard OD2 box but it did have the word "RENEWED" rubber stamped in red on the inside. Also on the bottom of the console is the word "RENEWED" again branded into the plastic.

I'd say he's probably correct that these were modified at a Magnavox service center. I'll try and dig mine out and get some pics.

Unfortunately mine doesn't have a box.  At first when I  read your comments on that site I thought you meant the "RENEWED" text was stamped on the bottom of the console the same way it was with the box - with ink.  I thought maybe it had worn off on my console, but since you said it is actually branded into the plastic, I'm certain that is missing from my console.

Any idea what the "AMP" on the joysticks stands for?

[bum-man]

Any idea what the "AMP" on the joysticks stands for?

AMP is just the name a the company that makes the connectors.

I checked mine and it is stamped RENEWED on the bottom but I didn't find any markings on the box.  The holes on mine are fairly clean but do appear to have been cut after the fact.  And I do have one Silver and one Black joystick with it.

[Lord Nepenthean]

What model # is your O2?  Do both the silver and black joysticks have the AMP connectors?  Has/had that company (AMP) done/made anything else that you know of?

[bum-man]

What model # is your O2?  Do both the silver and black joysticks have the AMP connectors?  Has/had that company (AMP) done/made anything else that you know of?

I post my model number tonight.  Both joysticks have the AMP connector on them.  AMP has been around for years, they make lots of different kinds of wires, connectores and sockets, you may even see their name on parts in your PC (power connectors, ribbon cables, etc), and I am pretty sure some of the tools I used to use were made by them too, things like crimpers and other wiring type tools.  The AMP name is still around but I think they got bought out by another company.

[bum-man]

Mine is the BK7600GY02, the serial number tag is a little different than your picture, it shows Model BK7600 and then Type GY02 in seperate boxes.

[Jagdiesel]

I think there were 2 models of the Odyssey2 that had detachable controllers.  The first came with the solid silver and the second with the black.  These were the first O2's made, if memory serves me correctly...
Sounds to me like the "renewed" ones were likely sent back to the factory for some reworking.  That or there was some change made prior to shipping that they stamped each and its box to ensure that the change had been made.
I had 2 of the detachable model O2's and both played well.  I sent one to my brother (DP member MeatPopsicle) and the other I traded off, like a dumbass, so I'm now stuck with the more traditional hardwired model.  Congrats to each on having the better O2.